Los Angeles - Media and electronics retail store chain Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) has begun selling refurbished Apple (NASD: AAPL) iPhone 3G models at a $50 discount, Reuters reported. The phones, returned by their original owners within 30 days of purchase, are available for $149 (8GB) or $249 (16GB) with a two-year AT&T contract. Wal-Mart also began selling the iPhone 3G a week ago, setting its prices at $197 (8GB) and $297 (16GB).

Minneapolis - Electronics and media retail chain Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) announced on Monday that it will host exclusive listening parties in the upcoming days before the release of Guns N' Roses 17-years-in-the-making "Chinese Democracy" album. The parties kick off today at Best Buy stores in New York, Dallas and Chicago, and will be held in various other locales in advance of the album's debut on Nov. 23. Consumers who pre-order the album on BestBuy.com will receive preferred access and a free t-shirt while supplies last.

Los Angeles - The four major record labels, along with leading U.S. retailers and memory card maker SanDisk on Monday introduced a new music format, where microSD cards will come pre-loaded with DRM-free MP3 albums from top artists. The "slotMusic" cards will be playable in mobile phones and MP3 players that support microSD cards -- which excludes Apple's (NASD: AAPL) iPod -- as well as on any computer with a USB port and a number of in-car systems.

Minneapolis - Consumer electronics and media retail store chain Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) announced on Monday that it has agreed to acquire digital music service Napster (NASD: NAPS) for $121 million, or $2.65 per share -- nearly double the company's closing price on Friday. "We believe Best Buy will be an ideal partner for Napster and are very excited by the benefits that this transaction delivers to our shareholders, partners and employees," said Napster chairman and CEO Chris Gorog. "We are looking forward to combining our digital media capabilities with Best Buy's resources and global network to extend our digital content platforms."

Minneapolis - Consumer electronics and media retail store chain Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) announced on Wednesday that it has struck a deal with Apple (NASD: AAPL) to become the first third-party retailer to sell the iPhone 3G in its stores. Best Buy will begin selling the iPhone 3G, which will still require a two-year contract with AT&T (NYSE: T), on Sept. 7 from its 970 U.S. stores.

Minneapolis - Consumer electronics and media retail chain Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) on Monday announced plans to deploy electronics vending machine kiosks in major U.S. airports as part of a pilot program of the technology. The Best Buy Express kiosks, powered by technology from ZoomSystems, will initially be installed at 12 airports, including LAX and SFO, and sell items including MP3 players, portable game devices, unlocked cell phones, digital cameras and various battery chargers.

New York - Veteran rock band The Police will release their forthcoming live album "Certifiable" exclusively in Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) retail stores and from the company's website. The band also partnered with the company to webcast what it called its last show ever last night from Madison Square Garden. Three songs from the concert's encore remain archived at BestBuy.com.

Port Washington, N.Y. - Apple's (NASD: AAPL) iTunes Store retained its position as the op U.S. music retailer during the first half of 2008, followed by Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT), Best Buy (NYSE: BBY), Amazon (NASD: AMZN) and Target (NYSE: TGT), according to a report from market research firm NPD Group. Apple overtook Amazon for third place in the first quarter of 2007, then hurdled Best Buy and Target in February of this year before toppling Wal-Mart to enter the lead in April.

Minneapolis - Consumer electronics and media retailer Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) announced on Tuesday that it will begin selling musical instruments and recording equipment at up to 85 of its U.S. stores, as well as from its website. The inventory will include more than 1,000 products at both entry-level and professional price points. Best Buy previously conducted what it called a successful pilot of its musical instruments store-within-a-store concept in seven stores in Southern California and Minneapolis.

Minneapolis - A recent survey conducted by electronics and media retail chain Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) found that 88% of consumers are aware of the digital broadcast transition, but nearly half (45%) said they plan to wait until after it happens to take any action.

London - U.S. consumer electronics and media retail chain Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) announced on Thursday that it paid $2.1 billion to acquire 50% of the Carphone Warehouse, a mobile phone retailer that counts over 2,400 stores in nine European countries.

Washington - The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has levied a total of $6 million in fines against many of the top electronics retailers in the U.S., for violating rules on labeling analog televisions they sell to inform consumers the devices will not be able to receive digital signals after the switch to digital broadcasting next February. The FCC levied fines against retailers including Sears ($1.1 million), Wal-Mart ($992,000), Circuit City ($712,000), Target ($296,000) and Best Buy ($280,000).